Evaluation of the efficacy of sarolaner (Simparica®) in the prevention of babesiosis in dogs

Parasites & Vectors

Table 1 The study design with the different treatment groups, the number of animals in each group (n), the day of tick infestation and counts, and the treatment and sampling schedule

Treatment group	Treatment^a		Day of tick infestation^b	Days of tick counts^c	Days of blood collections^d
Treatment group	Day 0	Day 7	Day of tick infestation^b	Days of tick counts^c	Days of blood collections^d
1 (n = 8)	Placebo	Placebo	28	29, 30 and 33	28 (prior to tick infestation), and 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70
2 (n = 7); treatment 28 days before tick infestation	Sarolaner (2 mg/kg)	Placebo
3 (n = 8); treatment 21 days before tick infestation	Placebo	Sarolaner (2 mg/kg)

^aDogs in group 1 received placebo tablets on Days 0 and 7. Dogs in group 2 received a sarolaner tablet on Day 0 and a placebo tablet on Day 7, to examine the efficacy 28 days after treatment. Dogs in group 3 received a placebo tablet on Day 0 and a sarolaner tablet on Day 7, to examine the efficacy 21 days after treatment
^bEach dog was infested with 50 (±4) Dermacentor reticulatus ticks of which 25% were infected with Babesia canis
^cTick counts without removal were performed at 24 h (±2) and 48 h (±2) hours after tick infestation on Day 28. Tick counts with removal were performed on Day 33
^dBlood collections for PCR analysis for detection of B. canis DNA and for IFAT for the antibody. On Day 28 only presence or absence of antibodies to B. canis was determined

ISSN: 1756-3305